New research from Central Michigan University shows close relationships can help prevent negative outcomes for victims of bullying.
The study looked at natural mentoring relationships to victims of bullying.
Danny Drevon is an assistant professor at CMU, who worked on the study.
He said natural mentors are people who are not immediate family, nor assigned through a program.
“So they can come from a variety of places, so it can be people at school like a teacher, guidance counselor, school psychologist, a coach, it can be people from church, like a pastor or something like that, it could be a neighbor.”
Stephanie Fredrick is another researcher who worked on the study.
“I don’t know that previously when people think about mentors we think about ‘oh we definitely should incorporate this sort of an of intervention to students who are being bullied’, I don't know that it's really been thought that way before, but you know really based on the results of our study I think it could be beneficial to these students.”
Fredrick said the study showed connections with a mentor helped to prevent interpersonal problems later in life.
